Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-10-16
she Complains Of the Management @! the
Vast Paran Stevens Estate.


Mrs. Stcvens's personal use. Other be-
quests were made to their daughter,
Mrs. Mary F. Paget, and to Ellen Mel
cher, Mr.. Stevens's daughter by his
first wife. Mr.. Melcher and Charles L.
Stevens were named as executors IN this
will and as trustee for Mary f. Paget.
Mis-. Stevens, in her petition against
Mossrs. Melcher and Stevens, says that
thew have involved her in expensive
and unnecessary litigation, and accuses
Melcher Of being incompetent In re-
gard to the establishment of the million
dollar trust fund, Mrs. Stevens says
that there was heated discussion be-
fore it was fixed upon. The statement
finally decided upon was as follows
The building known as the Victoria
Hotel, value S425,0C0; the Twenty
eighth street stable, $25, 600 ; the house
and property at No. State street, Bos-
ton, SlO5, 900 the Thirty seventh street
property in this city, S3jO,OO0, aud
other property aggregatine IN value
500. 600, all in New York. Mrs. Stevens
says further that Melcher has been ex-
tremely careless in the management Of
! this fund, and that hisactiOns have forced
her into expensive and unnecessary law
suits. She accuses him OF taking money
from the estate for his wife and refu
sing to show her his books or accounts.
She says that he kept the door of his
Office locked in order to keep her out,
and that the only person lie did admit
10 his room was a woman known rs
Sally Gibbons, whom he also allowed
TO occupy the store at No. 1850 Broad
way. his Miss Gibbons will be re-
membered rs the person who sued
Mrs. Stevens in the New York Su
preme Court last winter for tfespass
and assault.
Continuing, Mrs. Stevens states that
the executors sacrificed the interest OF
the estate in the Fifth-Avcnue Hotel,
and that Melcher conspired to appro
pirate $3.50, coo from the revenue OF the
estate for his own use. Another charge
that she makes against Messrs. Melcher
and Stevens is that they haveallowed the
estate to go to waste by neglecting to
add improvements and holding unpro-
ductiye property.
"Mr. Melcher," says Mrs. Stevens,
with his usual Iberality with other
peoples money, sent to person named
Peckham, at Newport, a check for
$1,000, with the iuiupction to please
keep yCur eyes open and inform me OF
all movements. >" She further charges
Melchcr with being pecuDiarily ire
sponsible and spcculator, and that he
las been adjudged to have paid $4,000
Of the estates income to his wife. Then
Mrs. Stevens quotes from letter writ
ten by Melcher Il never in my life
met such a liar and u fool as you are,
and you can't tell the truth when the
truth is best"
She gives an extract of letter writ
ten by Mclcher on January. %, 1897, to
Silas Quincy, of Boston, which said
"The trouble with Mrs. Stevens Is that
in the first place she can't tell the
truth, and in the second place she can't
be bound to DO as she agrees, even by
her written Obligations" "
The executors have been given one
month in which to answer this petition.
THE OTHER SIDE.
A reporter Of the New York Times
called upon Mr.. Melcher last evening
at his residence, 30 west Twenty-hrst
street, and showed him a written Gb-
stract Of the charges which Mrs. Ste
vens had made against him. Mr.. Mel
cher is O pleasant and mild-mannered
gentleman of about tifty-five. He is
lawyer, but has not practiced for
several years. He has an office at 40
Broadway, where he and a force of
clerks manage the Paran Stevens es-
tate. Messrs. Richardson and Stevens,
his male co-executors, he says, leave
the management of the vast New York
property entirely to him, and do not in
teriere at all. Mrs. Stevens, he mourn
fully remarked. interferes altogether
too much. He did not know OF her
application until he was informed of it
by the reporter OF the Tunes, but he
was not at all surprised. " 1t is Just
like her." said he. "Ihis is done in
revenge for suit which myself and
Mr.. Stevens brought in the Supreme
Court to compel her to account for
large sums of money belonging to
the estate which she has seized
from time to time and kept without
shadow Of right. 1t was referred to ex-
United States judge William q.
Choate. and the hearings have gone on
and strong testimony against her has
been brought out. We would have
been through now, but last june she
started off for Europe, and We connot
resume until next month. She wants
to do something to Offset the fatal ef-
feet OF that suit upon her if she can.
Mrs. Stevens charges, see, that ]
have kept my door chained and denied
her access. / had to. Why, you can
have no idea OF the ferocity of that
woman.
Mr.. Melcher, who is little man, not
near as large az Mrs. Stevens, fairly
shuddered in his easy char as he
thought of her, and glanced nervously
1t the door-perhaps to see If it was
chained. "She has repeatedly as
saulted me. Once she beat me over the
head with an umbrella once she struck
me in the breast and broke every cigar
in my vest pockets; at another time
she seized an inkstand and was going
to throw it at my head. Her language
1 will not attempt to repeat. She is the
most dreadful woman when she is mad
that l ever saw, and she is very often, l
can tell you.
"Mrs. Stevens charges that L have
put on foot costly and unnecessary htl-
cation. Neither myself nor Mr.. Ste
vens nor Mr.. Richardson has ever had
any litigation except what she has
forced upon us. 1t is not true that
the million dollars bequeathed to her
in trust has yet been allotted. The
statement which she makes that it
has been is untrue. We have tired
to divide the estate over and over again,
but We could never get her consent to
anything. Or if she did consent, she
would back out. That she charges me
with writing about her mendacity and
the hnpossibility of binding her to her
signed agreement, l admit You can
not bind her to anything. BY her per-
formances she has caused the estate to
lose million dollars. "
The Electric Motor Does Wei.